Two accused of using straw buyers, shell company in mortgage scheme

Two Las Vegas men face federal charges in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme that involved straw buyers and falsified mortgage loan documents.

A grand jury indicted Tari Brandon, 43, and Calvin Gribble, 50, earlier this month on charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and bank fraud.

According to a statement from the U.S. attorney's office in Las Vegas, Gribble was arrested and appeared in court Monday. He was released pending trial. Brandon surrendered Friday morning.

The indictment alleges that from about June 2004 to January 2005, Brandon, managing member of KTB Construction Co., and Gribble, owner of C.A. Gribble and Associates, a mortgage broker, solicited and paid people to act as straw buyers to apply for mortgage loans to purchase real estate in Las Vegas.

To induce the lenders to fund the loans, according to the indictment, Brandon and Gribble caused the loan applications and supporting documentation to include false and fraudulent information concerning the straw buyers' income, assets, employment and intent to occupy the home. Once the financial institutions funded the loans, the escrow companies made disbursements to Brandon's shell company, KTB Construction, and paid commissions and fees to Gribble.